Savior from outside Thedas
by Igor of Ruthenia
Summary: I have had an idea to write this story for sometime, and now I have finally had the time to do so. I always felt that Dragon Age lacked something, and this is what I think it was. This story will focus on Igor and his exploits in a foreign land during the Blight that happened in Origins. Will contain all original characters to some extend and the Warden will be female Cousland.


_**Author's notes: **__This story is set during the events of Origins. The main protagonist will be a human from a land outside of Thedas called Ruthenia. The Warden will be a female Cousland and during dialogue with her you will learn about the protagonist, Igor, and the land from which he comes from. I hope you will enjoy and give me feedback and criticism when it's due. Thank you._

**Chapter 1 – A new beginning**

A ship landed on the docks of Gwaren. Dock workers started pointing at it and talking about its design, which seemed very foreign to their eyes. The ships deck seemed empty and they only saw one person exit the ship. The person was hooded and had an armor on, which seemed like any normal armor to the dock workers eyes. They could also spot a sheathed sword on the persons waist. When the person noticed them, they saw that he was clearly not from here. His eyes were red and there was some sort of scar that ran over his right eye to his left cheek, effectively making him blind in the right eye. Also what they could see from under his hood, there were curls of dark silver hair that probably reached to his backside. After he had looked the dockworkers over, he proceeded towards the tavern.

The normally talkative people in the tavern fell instantly silent as the new visitor entered through the door and removed his hood. Few people gasped and few almost choked on their drinks. The mans appearance was very distinguished. The long, dark silver hair was long enough that it reached his middleback and the scar in his face drew many looks of disgust but also a few looks of admiration. His eyes were eyeing over the people who were looking at him. Before he could move further inside a big man stepped in front of him and demanded that he left immediately.

"Not going to happen, I need information first." The man said in a very deep voice and his accent seemed very foreign to the big mans ears. The big man was probably a guard of this tavern or something, because he kept insisting on his immediate departure from this establishment. The man repeated his request of needing information, but when the "guard" didn't answer but kept demanding, he sliced him in half so fast that his sword was sheathed again before the upper body had hit the floor. Then the man walked to the bar and asked the bartender in turn.

"I need to find Elissa Cousland and the Grey Wardens of Ferelden. Where are they?"

"Th-they are ru-rumored to be near Lothering a-at the m-moment." The bartender stuttered.

"Thank you for your help. Here are a few coins for your trouble." The man said and tossed two sovereigns to the bartender. Then he turned around and put his hood on again and left the tavern. He pulled out his map of Ferelden and located Lothering near Ostagar. Then he started walking towards the road that would lead him to the Imperial Highway. He had no idea why it was called that, since Ferelden was supposed to be a kingdom, not an Empire. He agreed with himself that he would have enough answers to his many questions when he would find this Cousland woman and the Grey Wardens. As he was exiting the town he started to wonder why it smelled like dogs were everywhere. Maybe it was a custom in Thedas to let dogs shit everywhere. He shrugged and continued towards the highway.

After a few days walk he was nearing Lothering. He hadn't run into anybody during his walk, mainly because he was avoiding the main road and instead walking near it in the rough forests. As he came closer and closer, he saw lots of people leaving Lothering. He stopped one of them by grabbing her arm and asked where they were all fleeing without making eye contact. The scared woman said that they were fleeing the coming Darkspawn horde. He nodded and said thanks and let the woman go. He was on the right track. As he entered the town premise, a woman in silver armor approached him. The woman said that he shouldn't come here as there is nothing left to trade or any places left to sleep anymore. He said that he didn't care without looking up at her. He just needed to find the Grey Wardens. Those words clearly meant something bad to her as she drew her sword immediately at the mention of them.

"Why are you looking for them? Are you one of them? They have been declared traitors to the crown and they are to be executed on sight." The woman shouted at him. He kept his calm and answered as truthfully as he could.

"No, I am not a Grey Warden, although I need their leader to answer some of my questions that I have been told need answering. So, do you know where they are?"

The woman eased up a little and put her sword away. Then she explained that they were in the tavern at the moment, and advised him not to speak that name aloud again, for his safety. The man bowed slightly and thanked her. Then he started walking towards the tavern, leaving behind a puzzled woman, who wandered who the hell was he. She decided that it didn't matter, as it was her duty to aid anyone seeking help, unless they were criminals or mages.

The man stepped in to the tavern only to witness a huge fight between four companions and some soldiers. He became instantly alarmed as he saw one of them cast a spell. He decided that he shouldn't kill her before he knew the state of magic in this land. He drew his sword and sliced two of the soldiers that remained in half. As the companions turned to see who had helped them, the one in the strange cloth spoke.

"Why did you do that?! They were about to surrender!" He looked puzzled by her accusation but managed to answer calmly.

"They were attacking someone I needed to speak with. I had no time to guess at their next move, so I decided that the best course of action was to remove their ability to make that next move."

"A wise decision." The mage he had seen cast that spell spoke now. She was dressed rather oddly, wearing pieces of animal feathers and furs here and there along some loosely tied leathers. He decided that if the mages dressed like that, the state of magical progression was still very early in this land. He sighed with relief inside his head and nodded towards her.

"And who did you need to speak with?" A man demanded from behind the mage. He recognized him as Alistair, as their spies had described him to him many times before his departure.

"Not with you Prince, if you are worried about that. No, I needed to speak with the leader of the Grey Wardens. I assume that it is you, Elissa Cousland?"

Alistair was struck dumb by his knowledge and Elissa was a little puzzled herself. She quickly put one and one together and asked him how he knew something like that. He answered that it was his duty to know, but insisted that this isn't the place to talk and requested that they would leave Lothering and talk at a private camp site. Alistair seemed ready to object, but Elissa cut in and agreed, but only if he accepted to follow her lead if they were going to travel together afterwards too. The man seemed hesitant, but bowed slightly and agreed. He said that he would follow her until the Darkspawn were defeated, but demanded that she wouldn't pry too much about him or his land. Elissa agreed, but they both knew it was a lie. Before they could leave, the woman in the cloth spoke, and told Elissa that she was coming too, because someone called "The Maker" said so. Elissa seemed all too happy to take her along, but he wasn't so sure they would get along too well.

After they exited the bar, Elissa spotted a Qunari in a cage. The Qunari seemed genuine in his plead for redemption and Elissa agreed to free him in exchange for helping with the Darkspawn. After they freed the Qunari, the strange man who had joined them in the tavern seemed a little intimated by the Qunari, but he didn't let it show very clearly. She kept her observation to herself and they started to head for the town exit. There they helped two dwarves against some darkspawn and they paid them for services rendered, so to speak. All this time the man had said nothing nor had he fought the darkspawn. Elissa wandered where he was from, but that question had to wait a bit longer. They got out of the town and set up camp in a fairly safe spot between some rock formations. Everyone set up their tents and Alistair started the camp fire. Finally after everything was set up, everyone except Sten, the Qunari, and the dog gathered around the camp fire to start their questioning of this strange man.

"Who are you and more importantly, WHERE are you from? Those eyes and that scar seem very unlike anything I have seen before." Elissa asked, and everyone else nodded their approval.

"Before I tell you, all of you must agree not to share it outside our party. Otherwise I won't share anything that I know or I won't use my skills to help us against the Darkspawn. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, some little slower than others, but enough that it was clear they wouldn't dear share any of what they might learn to anyone else, ever. Then the man started his tale.

"I am Igor, of Ruthenia. It is a land outside Thedas, far to the east across the ocean you call Amaranthine Ocean. These eyes are a gift from our god of war and wisdom, Ygra. And this scar marks that I have been baptized by him."

Everyone seemed shocked and Leliana was outright enraged. "What do you mean YOUR god of war and wisdom? There is only one god and he is our Maker!" Leliana fumed at him. "Calm down Leliana, let him explain." Elissa cut in.

"Thank you. Long ago, our land was peaceful and our seven gods watched over us. We were happy and content with our lives and lands, which stretched across the whole continent, making us an Empire. This Empire was ruled by a powerful mage known as Svetozar, who had the favor of our god of wisdom, Yetana. His magic was so powerful, it could make stone live and make clouds appear anywhere. However, the goddess of magic and guile, Yelana, who was a sister of Yetana, saw an opportunity she could not pass up. She convinced Svetozar that he was falling out of favor with Yetana and that he needed to prove himself again. He agreed as he was a devout servant of Yetana. Yelana taught him a spell, which would transform him into a god, who could rule even the lands beyond Ruthenia. As he was a greedy man, he believed her and cast the spell, only to see it turn every mage into a powerful slave to Yelana, who sought to control everyone by the power of bloodright. This bloodright was something that bound every mage in Ruthenia to Yelana. I am not entirely sure what it was, since it happened so long ago. The other gods witnessed this monstrosity and called help from the slumbering god of war, who hadn't been needed for over a millennia. He agreed to help against Yelana, but only if he could get Yetanas title and powers as the god of wisdom too. The gods agreed, and Yetana was banished to the mortal realm and was never heard from again. Ygra, as the god of war was known, chose four champions for him, who he gave his powers. I was one of them. We waged a war against Yelana that lasted for a millennia and nearly destroyed our world. After one of the champions had slain Yelana, the last one in our land ever to wield magic, the gods crowned him as a new Emperor, whose reign would last as long as them. So it was that the new Emperor, Rhodrik he was called, declared that the tyranny of magic was over forever in our land. Then he appointed the rest of the champions for different duties. I was chosen to seek out a new threat that was growing outside Ruthenia. This threat appeared many times over before we were wise enough to do anything, but this time, when we were finally able to act, the threat would be different and more powerful. So the spies Rhodrik had sent over the long years taught me everything I needed to know about Thedas, so I would know what to except and how to speak and so forth. And now here I am."

Everyone seemed shocked and Leliana and Morrigan were close to rage. They could not believe his story at all, for different reasons. Alistair seemed to go over it in his head and pondering what this could mean for Thedas. Elissa seemed intrigued by this new man they had found, or he had found them, it didn't really matter. Elissa had so many questions, but had promised not to ask too much. There was one question she had to have an answer for though.

"How old are you, Igor?"

"1754 years old, if you use your calendar to count it. Why do you ask?"

Everyone seemed even more shocked now, and Elissa continued. "So you are immortal?"

"Hmm, in a sense. One of the powers Ygra granted me was immunity to aging and diseases, as it would hamper my ability to serve our Emperor and more importantly, Him. But enough. I am tired and we have long days ahead of us, seeing as the Darkspawn don't die on their own."

Elissa seemed ready to protest, but knew she would not get more answers out of him today. She had one more thing she had to get straight before they would go to sleep however.

"Just one more thing people. I need everyone to work together. That means you can't question Igor in the field Leliana. You can argue with him here, in our camp, about religion. And Igor, since you talked about the tyranny of magic, will you have a problem with Morrigan?"

"No, I won't. Her magic is too primitive to hurt me anyway. Just as long as we deal with other mages accordingly if we come across any, I'll be fine with her around."

"I can't promise that Igor. We treat mages differently here. But we will see what happens in the coming days. Now everyone gets some shuteye, OK?"

"Yes." Came the unified answer. As Elissa went to sleep, she knew that this Blight would be extremely interesting and dangerous. She just hoped that nobody would recognize Igor as an outsider during their travels, especially the Chantry. Boy, what a mess that would be.


End file.
